canceled NIOSA for 2027<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 because it\u2019s become a money loser and the organization needs to think through its options.<\/p>\nArticle continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s surreal,\u201d said Keesee, who served as treasurer for this year\u2019s event. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like this is happening to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keesee and other long-time volunteers, not to mention generations of NIOSA fans, were blindsided by the Sept. 16 announcement and furious that the Conservation Society is scrapping the event. Their anger and disappointment have been reflected in a flurry of social media posts, and they dominated a society meeting Wednesday night, demanding the numbers behind the group\u2019s decision. They also wanted to know why the announcement had come without warning.<\/p>\n
The ire has largely been directed at Betty\u00a0Buech\u00e9, the Conservation Society\u2019s president, who said\u00a0the pandemic was a gut punch that\u00a0NIOSA is still reeling from.<\/p>\n
The financial damage became clear several months ago, when the society\u2019s leaders received the results of an audit indicating the event had lost $1.4 million over the last four years, Buech\u00e9 said. NIOSA has been a major fundraiser for the organization, but the nonprofit can\u2019t keep losing money on an event that\u2019s becoming more expensive to produce, she said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s just not viable,\u201d Buech\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n
But some board members and volunteers are skeptical of that rationale and have proposed options for tweaking rather than canceling the event. They\u2019re worried the society will never get the space back at La\u00a0Villita if it gives it up next year\u00a0\u2014 and they\u2019re dubious that\u00a0NIOSA will ever return.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou figure out how to fix it, not throw the baby out with the bath water,\u201d said Patti Zaiontz, a former Conservation Society president and NIOSA chair.<\/p>\n
The clash over the event highlights a long-running schism within the Conservation Society between the volunteers devoted to NIOSA and members who care mainly about the nonprofit\u2019s efforts to preserve and protect San Antonio\u2019s architectural and cultural history.<\/p>\n
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It also raises questions about the future finances and influence of the society, which has historically relied on NIOSA to fill its coffers.\u00a0It shuttered its NIOSA office and laid off two employees this summer, and is seeking to sell two of its properties and raise membership dues from $35 to $50 annually.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNIOSA has always been the goose that laid the golden egg,\u201d Zaiontz said.<\/p>\n
Pandemic blow<\/p>\n
NIOSA started out as a harvest festival the society hosted at Mission San Jos\u00e9 in 1936, which two years later became an annual\u00a0street fair called the Indian Festival. The group said it made $336.11 from the first one-night Indian Festival.<\/p>\n
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The nonprofit continued hosting the event\u00a0\u2014 aside from breaks in 1943 and 1945 for World War II\u00a0\u2014 under different names and in various locations. The city invited the Conservation Society to hold the gathering in conjunction with Fiesta in 1946, and it was renamed\u00a0NIOSA in 1948, when it moved to La Villita.<\/p>\n
NIOSA is one of Fiesta\u2019s biggest events, drawing crowds to munch on chicken on a stick, Shypoke Eggs and anticuchos, swill beer and dance in more than a dozen themed sections intended to highlight San Antonio\u2019s heritage and culture.<\/p>\n
The event typically generates more than $1 million annually for the society, its largest fundraiser by far.<\/p>\n
But figures provided by the nonprofit show that signs of trouble had begun cropping up even before the pandemic. Smaller crowds were coming through the gates. Attendance dropped from 91,718 people in 2004 to 73,217 people in 2019, a 20% decline over 15 years even as San Antonio\u2019s population boom.<\/p>\n
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Still, COVID-19 punched a hole in the event. The entire Fiesta celebration was canceled in 2020, and NIOSA was held in June the next year rather than April. Nearly 53,000 people came to NIOSA in 2023 and attendance topped 62,000 in 2024, but it plummeted to 48,000 by 2026.<\/p>\n
Buech\u00e9\u00a0blames a constellation of factors for the decline: rainy weather, the trend of adults drinking less alcohol and the sheer number of Fiesta events and other gatherings revelers can choose from, including La Semana Alegre at Hemisfair, next door to NIOSA at La Villita. And high prices for parking, admission, food and drinks are barriers for families grappling with the steep costs of rent, gas and groceries.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s difficult to get a clear picture of\u00a0NIOSA\u2019s numbers because the Conservation Society operates through three separate entities, including a foundation that handles grants.\u00a0Apart from bringing in NIOSA money\u00a0\u2014 in its good years\u00a0\u2014 the group collects rent on buildings it owns and leases, receives grants and holds securities and other investments.<\/p>\n
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The society\u2019s main arm recorded losses for five of the past seven fiscal years, including losing $72,619 on $2.7 million in revenue in 2025, the most recent financial filing available. Separately, the foundation also reported losses for five of the past seven years. Conservation Celebration, a nonprofit set up in 2023 to secure permits to sell alcohol at NIOSA, turned a profit in 2023 but reported losses the next two years.<\/p>\n
Revenue from NIOSA and other society events fell from more than $3 million before the pandemic to $1.8 million in fiscal year 2025. Expenses ranged from $1 million to $2.9 million after COVID, down from over $3 million before the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Buech\u00e9 and former President Lewis Vetter said the results of the audit\u00a0\u2014 the one showing cumulative NIOSA losses of $1.4 million\u00a0\u2014 had been delayed until last spring because of accounting and bookkeeping changes. Financials for NIOSA hadn\u2019t previously included as much as $500,000 per year in indirect expenses, such as the cost of maintaining buildings the society uses for the event,\u00a0Vetter said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIn a sense we\u2019ve been underwriting NIOSA for several years,\u201d said Vetter, who served as president from 2024 to 2026.<\/p>\n
Buech\u00e9 did not provide a copy of the audit or an annual breakdown of losses from the event.<\/p>\n
The Conservation Society dipped into its reserves to cover the losses, she said.<\/p>\n
A big, costly party<\/p>\n
The costs of putting on NIOSA are high, and the society foots the entire bill. Upwards of 6,500 volunteers and the society\u2019s small staff host it.<\/p>\n
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The nonprofit spends as much as $400,000 on security, an amount dictated in part by the city\u2019s collective bargaining agreement with the San Antonio police union, which stipulates higher pay for officers working Fiesta events.<\/p>\n
Under a 10-year license agreement City Council approved in March, the society paid $195,000 to rent La Villita this year and committed to spending another $1.9 million over the term of the contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paying for fire personnel, permits and electricity for booths, food and drinks, equipment repairs and cleanup pushes up the price of admission\u00a0\u2014 and the society knows the cost is a sticking point for some residents,\u00a0Buech\u00e9 said. This year, it cost $25 to get into NIOSA at the gate, or $20 if you bought a ticket beforehand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe realize that at a certain price point, people feel like it\u2019s too expensive,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to juggle everything so we can make sure that we don\u2019t unnecessarily burden people with high costs and we are able to pay all the costs associated with putting on the event. We apparently reached the point where it isn\u2019t working anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Buech\u00e9 also said the space available for the event has shrunk by 43% because parts of La Villita have been put off-limits. That includes Maverick Plaza, where San Antonio chef Johnny Hernandez plans to build several restaurants, and the round\u00a0Villita Assembly Building, which is under private ownership.<\/p>\n
CPS Energy sold the building in 2023 to San Antonio-based GrayStreet Partners, which flipped it to local private equity firm Escalera Capital. Managing partner Bobby Magee said the building will likely be out of commission next year because of renovations to convert it to a food hall, but he wants it to be part of\u00a0NIOSA when construction is completed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still optimistic that will be the case long-term,\u201d Magee said.<\/p>\n
The city disputed Buech\u00e9\u2019s claim that the footprint for NIOSA will be smaller. The same amount of space, including Maverick Plaza, is available for the event, spokesperson Brian Chasnoff said in an email.<\/p>\n
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Canceling NIOSA<\/p>\n
The society received the audit in May, a month before Buech\u00e9 was elected president.<\/p>\n
She appointed a task force to explore options for\u00a0NIOSA, such as changing its time and dates, location and food and drink offerings. In August, the nonprofit closed its NIOSA office and laid off the two employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NIOSA chair Julie Terrill, Keesee and several other society members presented a business plan proposing that the Conservation Society seek more sponsorships, boost marketing and make other changes. The organization has largely avoided soliciting sponsorships from the private sector partly because it often spars with developers and business executives over preserving and restoring San Antonio\u2019s stock of historic buildings.<\/p>\n
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The plan, a copy of which was obtained by the San Antonio Express-News,\u00a0projected profit of $1.5 million, based on $3.5 million in revenue and $2 million in expenses. Terrill compiled a list of businesses she\u2019d talked to about sponsorships and potential savings on food prices, security and labor expenses.<\/p>\n
But the Terrill group couldn\u2019t change the minds of Conservation Society leaders. In mid-September, the organization\u2019s executive committee voted 5-3 and its board of directors voted 17-10 to suspend NIOSA.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very sad thing. No one is happy about this, no one wants to do it this way,\u201d Buech\u00e9 said. \u201cFor 2027, we can\u2019t figure a way to do this without losing money again, and we feel like that would be an irresponsible decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the volatile society\u00a0meeting on Wednesday, members\u00a0asked that\u00a0Terrill be allowed to speak, but\u00a0Buech\u00e9 said she wasn\u2019t on the agenda.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI am implementing the vote of the board,\u201d Buech\u00e9 said, referring to the NIOSA hiatus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Keesee and other volunteers are holding out hope that they can convince the society to reverse course and stage their cherished celebration in 2027. Some are\u00a0gathering signatures from members to force the society to hold a meeting to discuss NIOSA and provide numbers. But they\u2019re worried it won\u2019t be enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like they\u2019re breaking up a huge family,\u201d Keesee said.<\/p>\n
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